Asthma is a chromic hypersensitive condition that affects your respiratory system. What happens is that you get recurring bouts of illness including frequent asthmatic attacks.
Anyone that has asthma will usually complain of breathing difficulties. This is generally caused by a narrowing of your airways. Your airways are made up of the bronchi and bronchioles which are found in your lungs.
Asthma affects all of the age groups with the exception of small babies. Usually it begins in early childhood, but it can also happen in later years. When children are affected by asthma, it has been discovered that boys are usually more affected, however in adulthood both sexes are affected equally.
The main symptoms of asthma are wheezing and breathlessness. Wheezing is usually accompanied by a cough which often gets worse during nighttime. The extent of the asthma attack is dependent on how the bronchi are affected by narrowing.
If the bronchi are severely restricted, then the attack becomes severe with associated shallow rapid breathing. The pulse rate accelerates, and in an extremely severe case, the person”s skin and lips may take on a bluish tinge and they will not be able to speak. This is known as cyanosis.
This type of attack is classed as an emergency attack especially if the person does not respond to front line medication. There is a possibility their condition can deteriorate so quickly they may die.If anyone suffers a prolonged attack of asthma or they suffer from them repeatedly within a short period of time, it is known as
“Status Asthmaticus”. Again, this is a very serious condition and can result in the death of the person because of exhaustion and respiratory failure.Though asthma is one of the fastest growing diseases of the western world, it is also probably one of the better controlled in most people. Medications available for asthmatics are varied and generally work very well. However one of the better treatments for asthma is prevention and the key to this is for people to manage their asthma effectively.One of the best ways of doing this is to avoid the substance or allergen that triggers the asthma attack. This can include anything from pet hair to dust mites or even pollen, so obviously it can often be quite difficult to do this.Drugs used in the management of asthma come in several different varieties, but the two most common ones are bronchodilators which dilate the airways and make the passage of oxygen into the body much easier and anti inflammatory drugs which are usually inhaled.Most drugs used in the management of asthma are inhaled as this has been discovered to be a very effective way of controlling it. However if a person is in status Asthmaticus, then they would not be as effective as they should be. The person would need to be admitted to hospital for more intensive treatment.
For More Health Care Information:
Allergy Induced Asthma